From the Same Family
by Qayin
Summary: Naruto, Sakura and Sai are the best extraction-team since the Cobbs were in business. When Orochimaru approaches them for a chance at inception on not only one, but two from the same family, how will they tread in these dangerous waters? And how will they get Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Sasuke in the same room before Itachi's disease claims his life?
1. Matsumoto Manor

**This story might contain suggestive language and themes.**

**The current rating may change.**

**I do not own Naruto, Inception or any characters mentioned below. **

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><p>"Inception. Is it possible?" The sun littered through the huge Victorian windows and played over the lush leather-armchairs; the massive mahogany desk and the Persian rugs. The ocean spread out over the shore, extended to the end of the horizon while the finely carved bookcases contained bound knowledge from all over the world. The matching grandfather's clock ticked by.<p>

The man sitting in an impressive chair opposite of them by the desk had very expensive taste; and some powerful enemies if the bullet-proof windows were anything to go by. And, luckily for them, Matsumoto Orochimaru also had more money than he could spend. Naruto grinned from ear to ear as the sun glinted in his blond hair and he crossed his arms.

"Impossible." The extractor shook his head. "Believe it." Orochimaru crooked a delicate eyebrow.

"Why?" he asked, looking very relaxed as he leaned back in the chair. Sai liked the room, even its slightly sombre paintings of the fall from Eden and the snake tricking man to defy God. Naruto shook his head one more time and leaned forward.

"Come on; stealing secrets is one thing; a man's brain will practically hand the information to you if you're good enough, like yours truly." Sakura cleared her throat and pushed a lock of pink hair away from her forehead.

"With company." Naruto added quickly and rubbed his head while giving her a sheepish look. "But planting an idea like that into someone else's brain, now that's just not possible." Orochimaru regarded him with the same expression until the blonde started to sweat and dived in to explain further. "Look," he said and held out two fingers like a little football-goal. "I say, don't think about instant noodles, what do you think about?"

"Food." Yakushi Kabuto, Orochimaru's constant companion said from behind his boss. Sai suspected there was a lot of bending over for his boss when people weren't around, too.

"Exactly, but you know I brought it up." Naruto said, sparing Kabuto a light grin.

"The human brain is simply too complex for inception." Sakura butted in, uncrossing and crossing her legs while she straightened out an imaginary wrinkle in her skirt. "People always overlook the fact that the brain is controlling thousand of little things every single minute, and then it's only using about ten percent of its capacity. Even unconscious gestures, like biting your lip or playing with a pen the brain controls without us even noticing." Sakura smiled and waved her hand around lightly. "There's just so much being processed that the brain always knows a foreign idea from its own."

"Perhaps if you tried to plant an idea like "_love the colour orange_" it could work, but only if the subject itself is preferable towards orange. And if it's something that stupid I doubt anyone would go for it anyway." Naruto leaned back again and regarded them seriously. "I'm sorry, no one can do it. Not even the best – which happens to be us." He shrugged.

"My sources tell me that it is possible."

"Well your sources are telling you bullshit, because it is impossible."

"Not impossible." Sai said, speaking up for the first time. Four pair of eyes turned to him, two of them betraying the surprise they felt. Sai smiled politely to them as Naruto glanced between him and their employer.

"Sai, what are you talking about?" he demanded, hand automatically going for his totem. Same happened to Sakura. Sai retraced his hand over the books and shrugged.

"It's not impossible, just very hard."

"Sai," Sakura said, sounding as if she spoke to a small child. "Don't you think that if anyone had succeeded at inception, someone would have heard of it?"

"Depends who succeeds with it." Sai answered casually. They were silent for a moment.

"Will you excuse us for a while?" Naruto said, smiling politely at them as he stood.

"Take all the time you need." answered Orochimaru, looking as he already could see his goal approaching. Naruto nodded and walked over to Sai, taking his arm before going out into the corridor. Sakura followed and carefully closed the door behind them. Naruto pulled them into an empty room and then gave Sai a look completely different from the one he had worn in front of Orochimaru and Kabuto.

"What the hell?" he asked and put his hands on his hips. "What are you talking about?"

"Inception." Sai tilted his head. "It is possible."

"Sai, that kind of accomplishment would have leaked!" Sakura insisted. "Everyone would have heard of it!" Sai shook his head.

"Not if it's classified." Both of his team-mates stared at him.

"Alright, I'm curious." Naruto finally admitted. Sai smiled a smile that said he knew he was. "Spill."

"Dream-sharing was first invented by the military to train soldiers without actually inflicting harm onto them –" Sai started.

"Bore!" Naruto interrupted. "We already know that much."

"Naruto, be silent," Sakura ordered and looked back at Sai.

"But we do know; back then, they didn't care for an actual environment because no one knew the brain would eventually burn to crisp without some kind of stimulation besides just fighting. Most soldiers that got involved died and it got put on the shelf until some scientist started fingering with it again." Naruto waved his hand around. Sakura was about to hit him when Sai interrupted their argument.

"Naruto-kun is correct, Sakura-san. Except that it wasn't put on any shelf." Sai frowned and shrugged again. "The work got classified and a secret branch outside of the government took over." His teammates were silent for quite a while.

"A secret branch outside the government?" Naruto repeated and stared at him with a growing frown.

"Called the Foundation, yes. Most people haven't even heard of them. For a few, they are an urban legend, whispered about in the break room." Sai spoke as he inspected the room, finding the conversation slightly too dull and basic for his taste. "For some very influential few there might contain bribes in their monthly salaries, but officially the Foundation doesn't exist." Sakura and Naruto shared a look which Sai paid no attention to. "The Foundation reaches beyond state; there is no line they cannot cross, no jurisdiction they yield under. They were the first to attempt inception, but all of their earlier attempts failed." Sai sighed. "Until Danzo arrived."

"Danzo?" Sai crossed the room, unbothered by his friends' concerns and pushed heavy curtains away from the spectacular view of trimmed rose gardens and marble statues along neat précis lines of pebbled stone. Orochimaru had _extremely_ expensive taste.

"Shimura. The Dream-Eater." Sai dragged a finger along the window-sill, searching for dust, anything to indicate that this was an actually home.

"Dream-Eater?" both Sakura and Naruto exclaimed, as if they feared for Sai's sanity.

"There is nothing above the continued existence of the State," Sai peaked out at a green-clad gardener struggling with some heavy bags of earth. "In his mind." He turned around again. "The Foundation thrived under his care. His methods were ruthless – but brilliant. It's easiest on the weak-minded but as long as the idea is very simple, it's possible on everyone."

"Now wait a minute," Sakura interrupted. "One team tried a couple of years back; they lost both target, benefactor, architect and extractor. They're all stuck in limbo, probably thinking they made it out along with the rest of the team."

"And they were _good_." added Naruto. "Best damn extractor there ever was."

"Not as good as Danzo." said Sai and shook his head. "No one is." Before Naruto could object Sai continued. "Danzo succeeded at inception – on an industrial scale. The military wanted trained soldiers, the Foundation went _way_ beyond that." Both team-members looked dubious but Sai paid them no heed. "Fine-tuned killing-machines, by the dozen; there only to the disposal of Danzo's every whim."

"So you're saying that this guy brainwashed on a bunch of guys to become zombies?" Naruto raised an eyebrow at him along with a piercing blue stare.

"Orphans, young children," Sai answered. "They are the best subjects since a child can't separate dreams from reality in the same way as grown-ups. The idea though, is very simple. '_You have a family'_. The Foundation becomes their very reason for being; they breathe, eat and, if necessary, die for it; and the Foundation needs to protect the state." A wind started picking up on the other side of the windows, fuelled by the raging of the sea. "And Danzo's word is law."

"Now wait just a minute," Naruto started and held up a finger. "If "the Foundation" is _so_ secret, how do you know about it?"

Sai tilted his head and smiled softly. "I used to be a part of it." His friends looked dubious.

"Sai..." Sakura started, hesitantly.

"You don't believe me, I can tell." Sai leaned back on the window sill. He really liked this house. "But Inception is real."

"So you'll accept my proposal?" Orochimaru stood in the doorway. Everyone snapped their necks to him. Naruto glanced at Sai while fingering the totem in his pocket, Sakura seemed nervous and Sai smiled politely.

"Are you sure?" Naruto asked, pinning Sai with his eyes.

"Believe it." Sai smirked.

"Sakura-chan?" Sakura shook her head.

"This seems dangerous Naruto." The blonde looked back at Orochimaru, thoughtfully.

"We'll hear you out," he said. "And then decide."

* * *

><p>"Sharingan Productions have been my soul competitor for years." Orochimaru started comfortably behind his massive desk. He signalled a stop to Kabuto who poured tea. "Thank you Kabuto-kun." Kabuto handed each of them a cup of their own. Sai observed the delicate china, and its blue-coloured birds. "Our primary work has always been experimental research, some of which might even revolutionize the world. My company focuses mostly on medical discoveries, but we also have branches of other fields – we must to keep a steady pace with Sharingan prod.<p>

"The company is lead by an ingenious man named Uchiha Itachi, and have been for ten years now. The man was just a runt of fifteen when his father passed away and left the responsibilities to him, but he has managed exceptionally well, too well in my opinion, and the company has flourished under him." Naruto and Sakura listened intently, barely touching their tea. Sai's was already out, and he figured Naruto wouldn't mind sharing his. Discreetly he exchanged the cups and got an amused smile from Orochimaru before the man continued.

"Unknowingly to the public eye however, Itachi-san is falling very ill. I have it confirmed by trusted sources that he is almost completely blind now – Kabuto?" Orochimaru looked to his companion.

"He has a very rare genetic decease," said Kabuto and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "It is attacking his nerve-system and blocks out the signals from reaching his brain. The vision is always the first to go; and eventually he will become completely paralyzed. When this happens it is unlikely he will survive for even a month in a hospital."

"When Itachi-san dies, the company will fall onto his younger brother, Uchiha Sasuke."

"The target?" Sakura interrupted.

"Indeed." Orochimaru nodded. "There is no love between the siblings. Sasuke-kun blames his brother for the death of their parents." Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Is he?"

"Very unlikely." said Orochimaru.

"It was a car-accident." Kabuto intercepted. "Uchiha-san, the monarch, was driving and a truck lost control in the rain. Itachi-san was in the passenger-seat and tried to grab the wheel, but the truck smashed into the side, killed both the father, and the mother in the back-seat."

"Now the brothers have not spoken since Sasuke-kun went to a private-school in Europe, according to the family's wishes."

"And you want us to make this Sasuke-kun disband the company and clear the competition?" Sakura asked, crossing her legs again. Naruto leaned over to her.

"Why does that sound familiar?" he asked and rolled his eyes. Sakura nodded in agreement. Orochimaru tilted his head and smiled, all teeth.

"On the contrary." The teammates looked surprised at him. "I want the brothers to make peace." Orochimaru leaned his arms against the desk and touched his fingertips together. He reminded Sai of that guy from that movie about the mob. What was it called?

"From the goodness of your heart?" Naruto furrowed his eyebrows.

"Because of what Itachi-san is working on." Orochimaru answered. The Godfather, he suddenly recalled the title. Naruto had made him watch through a marathon of those movies one night. Sai had fallen asleep in the middle of the second disk and Naruto had gotten angry and pushed him off the sofa. Sai had jolted awake and slammed his head into the nearby table and since Naruto laughed they had started a small war over the next couple of months trying to get back on the other.

"A new kind of power-source; unlimited power." Orochimaru smiled. "But alas, he won't have time to finish it, but, Sasuke might, if Itachi revealed his secrets."

"Unlimited power!" Sakura gasped. "That's impossible."

"Not impossible," Orochimaru interrupted with a fierce grin on his face and a glint in his eyes. "Just very, _very_ hard."

"If the experiment is a success it would be able to generate power all over the globe."

"How is that possible?" Sai asked with a dampened mood. Another, rivalry company shouldn't be so excited and bent on the success of an experiment conducted by their enemy, even if it was an exciting feat.

"It's a complicated process to put in layman's tongue, but to keep it simple; it involves harvesting the power from an artificial black hole." Orochimaru grinned.

"But wouldn't that kind of discovery on their part place them years ahead of you?" Sakura asked with a frown. "You said it yourself; you have to keep pace in a lot of different fields to stay afloat."

"I have my reasons," Orochimaru assured them. "And I will reveal them – if you accept the job. Not before." He pinned Naruto with a stare. Naruto shifted back in his chair and looked at the clock.

"We need to discuss it thoroughly." he said after a moment and grinned, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "It is very interesting though."

"I understand." said the man and nodded. "Why don't you leave, consider it at home and get back to me tomorrow morning?"

"Most graciously," answered Naruto and stood. Sakura did the same.

"Will ten o'clock suffice?" Orochimaru tilted his head, smiling pleasantly.

"You'll hear from us." Naruto said honestly. "Believe it."

Kabuto held out a business-card, and after a moment Naruto took it and left.

"I'll be waiting." Orochimaru said before Sai and Sakura followed.

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><p>Once they were away from the manor and seated in the backroom of a restaurant they finally started talking. Naruto was the one that broke the silence.<p>

"This whole deal smells fishy."

Sakura nodded and tapped her totem against the table-edge. "I agree. What do we know about it?"

"I know Matsumoto Gen. is the supplier for hospital-stuff." Naruto said, chewing on a piece of bread while waiting for the food. "The supplies we've _acquired_ have their logo on them and they're developing medicine – right?"

"Basically the whole of Asia is dependent on them, and they create vaccines for all over the world." Sakura agreed, always the medical woman. "The last five flu-shots have come from Matsumoto."

"And Sharingan Productions?" Sakura shook her head.

"I know it's some big business, but not much about what they actually do. Itachi-san is a socialite, and a sought after bachelor." Sakura smiled faintly. "Rather dashy, if I may say so." Naruto winced and Sai smiled in agreement. He had seen Uchiha Itachi in the tabloids, a very proportionate fellow. "This is the first time I've heard about a brother." Naruto nodded slowly, staring out into space until the waitress put down his ramen in front of him. Naruto gave her his biggest winning smile and winked at her.

"Thanks Love." The girl blushed and smiled shyly.

Sai observed them over his lasagne until the brunette scampered off in a rush to another table.

"Must you do that?" he asked with a frown.

"Jealous?" Naruto grinned at him.

"Now she's looking at us." Sai said and kept eyeing the girl. "Have you even heard of secrecy?" Naruto shrugged.

"Boys!" Sakura interrupted them. "Focus at the issue at hand please." Sai tore his eyes from the girl and back to his teammate.

"Right." Naruto dug into the ramen like a starving man. "Should we take it? It's a lot of money." He pointed the chopsticks at her.

"I don't know Naruto," Sakura answered with a frown. "It seems dangerous. Especially since Orochimaru is holding out on us."

"But Inception." Naruto said slowly. "I mean, I'm the biggest preacher against it – but if we pulled it off... we could be set for life."

"I say it's too dangerous. I don't trust Orochimaru for one second." Sakura shook her head. Naruto looked to Sai.

"Sai? What do you say?" Sai looked around the room slowly and then turned his face towards the plate.

"I think it's too late to say no now. The two men in the bar have been following us since we left the manor." Neither of his friends revealed their surprise but continued eating calmly.

"Are you sure?" Sai nodded. He was positive. Naruto sipped his water and nodded.

"Alright. I'll accept, but we're staying on top of this thing. Sakura, I need you to dig into Sharingan Productions. I want to know everything about them; when they funded, what they're doing, who their suppliers are, the whole hierarchy. Find out how Matsumoto fits in; and what they're gaining from this whole ordeal."

"Consider it done." Sakura nodded. Naruto turned his eyes to Sai, regarding him seriously.

"Sai, you and I are going to have a talk – and you're going to tell me absolutely everything you know about Inception and the Formation –"

"The Foundation."

"Whatever it's called; and no more secrets, okay? I want to know where they operate, _how_ they operate and how they are staying a secret."

"Calm down, don't get your knickers in a twist."

"I'm serious." Naruto held out a finger. "Everything."

"Alright." Sai nodded and looked away.

"_Sai_," the blond warned.

"I mean it." Sai whispered. "Everything."

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><p><strong>Reviews make writers feel special! <strong>

**Fair warning, this story is long. Like, 11K and expanding.**

**Yours truly, Qayin.**


	2. Head Quarters

**This work contain suggestive language and themes.**

**The current rating might change to M.**

**I do not own Naruto, Inception or any of the characters mentioned below. **

* * *

><p>The next day, Naruto was on the phone with Orochimaru when Sakura came in to headquarters. Naruto gestured her in and Sakura crossed the room as silently as she could, handing a smoking hot triple caramel latte to Sai, like every morning, and put down a simple black decaf for Naruto on the table by him.<p>

Sai was quite fond of sugar and his teammates used to joke that unless he got his latte in the morning he would turn into the Hulk (he and Naruto had watched the animated series a while back, so Sai understood the reference, even if he didn't portrait himself as a monstrous green man dressed only in pants). On the opposite end, Naruto was _too_ fond of sugar and couldn't get any without becoming obnoxious and starting to bounce the walls like a ninja.

Sakura sat down by him and opened a file she had tucked under her arm. She wore a sleek tailor-fitted suit that made quite the contrast to her bright pink hair. She fell into deep concentration like she was a student worrying about an exam and Sai sipped his latte carefully while regarding her.

In many ways Sakura was the most professional of them. She was their Point Man and chemist; her job was to be informed about everything. She was strong; and frightening enough to threaten a man if she needed to, and sweet and charming enough to gain knowledge while flirting in the bars.

She was well-kept, both physically, mentally and appearance-wise, and she had just the right amount of patience to let Naruto roam free and then shut him down when he was going too far. When Sai had first met her he had detested her, and the feeling appeared to be mutual. Sakura had been very emotional about a breakup with her on- then off again boyfriend and there was nothing Sai disliked more than a weak, pathetic waste of space. So Sai had told her that – and Sakura had beaten the lights out of him.

It had taken a while, with a lot of human relationship book purchases' and a few beatings, but after a couple of years he became a regular on their team, and now Sakura even called him a friend, openly, without being drunk.

Sakura even confided in him about the problems with her boyfriend – like Sai would know what to do – and the commitment issues she kept having. Now Sai didn't really understand what a Good Guy meant, but apparently Rock Lee was one – so maybe it had something to do with spandex, or really big junk – and while Sakura was fairly sure she wanted a guy like that, she kept getting cold feet and felt immensely drawn to the Bad Boy types out there; like the ones her childhood friend Ino kept fooling around with. Sai suggest buying slippers and watch X-men, because Naruto had assured him Wolverine was the biggest bad-ass ever, and it must have worked, because Sakura laughed and said she got the message.

Naruto hung up and grabbed his coffee, taking a long sip before looking at them.

"We're meeting Orochimaru back at the manor at noon to go over the conditions." Sakura looked up from her file and nodded.

"Then you'll be happy." she said and pushed the file over to him. "I've done some digging about Sharingan Productions and interestingly, their main investor is the Japanese military." Naruto ghosted through the page.

"They're making weapons?"

"_Big_ weapons." Sakura corrected. "Bombs, chemical warfare, you name it. Back in World War Two they were close to making their own atom bomb." Sai frowned softly.

"And Matsumoto is a medical company foremost?" he asked. Sakura nodded. "That doesn't make sense. Why would they even be competitors?"

"Because," Sakura said and reached out to the file, pulled a paper from under the first and showed it to Naruto. "Matsumoto Gen is also sponsored by the army. They are developing for the private sector, but it seems like all the really good stuff is going to the military. Vaccines, foam-bandages, everything soldiers might need come from Matsumoto Gen."

"So Sharingan Productions feeds Matsumoto Gen by fuelling war." Naruto put his arms on the table. "Everything is going in circles. The Uchiha's arm the soldiers; Matsumoto patches them up so they can be armed again."

"Exactly, but it seems like Sharingan Productions wanted more." Sakura started making pink ringlets by her ear. "When Itachi-san became CEO he suddenly started expanding the business. It seems like he thought they could cut off Orochimaru-san completely by making their own medical supplies and they started releasing finished products Matsumoto was still trying to develop."

"And they started their race." said Naruto.

"So why wouldn't Orochimaru want Sharingan to shut down?" Sai asked. "They're stealing their field."

"I haven't found it, but I'll keep looking." Sakura said. Naruto looked to her and nodded.

"Alright." He grinned at her. "Good job Sakura-chan." Sakura smiled back, and then cast a quick look to Sai. Naruto shook his head discreetly so Sai decided to ignore them. "We should get some brunch; it might be a long day."

"I'm not going!" Sakura said quickly. "I paid for the coffee, and dinner yesterday." She leaned back in the chair and shook her head. "It's your turn." Naruto groaned and pulled up his wallet. Coins clinked together in the little frog-pouch as Naruto viewed the contents.

"Fine, I'm buying." he mumbled defeated.

"While you're at it you could buy yourself an adult wallet and grow up." Sai offered and Naruto glared at him.

"Just for that you're carrying." He turned away. "Sakura-chan, what do you want?"

Sakura hummed softly. "See if they have some tuna-rolls." Naruto nodded and walked to the door. "Oh, and that spinach soup!" she called after him. "And a muffin." Sai stood and pinned the drawing he worked on to the board before following the blonde.

"Apple?"

"Not the sweet ones," Sakura said with a roll of eyes. "The food muffins." Naruto frowned.

"Disgusting."

"Just get it!" she ordered and turned, seeing the sketch of Orochimaru, the Godfather. Sai saw in the corner of his eye how she flinched in fright before collecting her wits and he smiled brightly. "Kami, that scared me..." she mumbled, Sai closed the door.

Naruto was already in his car, and Sai opened the passenger door carefully. The car was Naruto's baby. A black and orange Pontiac -54 muscle monster, the car was in better state then the day it was made. Naruto always parked it in a garage, and had a sheet over it during the nights. She, and Naruto insisted it was a she, was all original parts and received a spa-treatment every second week, where a much overpriced mechanic changed oil and checked the engine, while some bust-boys polished the lack and leather.

Naruto called her Victoria Faye, and he was now cooing to her softly, stroking over the panels while Sai sat down and strapped himself in. Sai said nothing, and Naruto started her up with a mighty roar.

It was only a ten minute ride to the shopping-districts from the industry warehouse but after two Naruto turned into an alley and fiddled with the radio.

"So," he said while Robbie Williams sang through the speakers. "Inception." Sai sighed, knowing it was a subject they had to discuss. He looked out through the windscreen at the rundown factories. Bags and other waste lied scattered on the sidewalk and he was struck by the forgotten beauty of the decay. He got the urge to paint it.

"Once you do it, you can change the very basis of a person. Sakura was right about the brain; it always knows when something alien is influencing it." Sai played with his fingers over the seat, drawing imaginary creatures on the leather. "That's why you need to go so deep that it's not about the brain anymore. It has to become primal; beyond consciousness, beyond thought. Basic."

"A dream within a dream," Naruto said, glancing at him. Sai shook his head.

"Three levels," he said, painting a three. "At least."

"That kind of dreaming is impossible – the dream would be too unstable!" Naruto argued, waving his suntanned hand around.

"You need sedatives."

"Sedatives powerful enough to stabilize that kind of multileveled dreaming would knock you out completely; the kick would be useless." Sai shrugged. This was true of course, you needed some kind of compound that would leave the inner-ear functions untouched, otherwise your balance would be tempered, and you wouldn't feel if you fell, but he was not a chemist, and he told Naruto so.

"It _is_ dangerous; otherwise more people have done it." Naruto pressed his lips into a thin line and circled the block again.

"Have you done it?" he asked and Sai hesitated a moment.

"No." The blond looked at him again. "But I've had it done to me." The silence that ascended over them lasted for several minutes, Naruto waiting for Sai to continue, and Sai fighting to drop the subject. "I grew up on the street." Sai spoke eventually. "I shared a cardboard box with a man called Iva. Iva thought he was a Rottweiler, so he bit you if you came too close and he wasn't housebroken." Sai could still see the man in front of him, crawling on all four, beard down to the pavement, growling and barking at people passing by.

Occasionally he would have a moment of clarity and stand up, tell Sai what a cruel world they lived in, and how all the rich snobs robbed them of their lives. He couldn't stand straight anymore, and he scared Sai more as a man, then he did as a dog. Sai smiled.

"I never had any parents; it was just Iva and I. I begged for money on the street, and bought cat-food and whiskey for Iva in the grocery store at the corner. The shopkeeper was an immigrant from Russia, and he knew Iva, so he didn't care if I had an ID or not." Naruto pulled over to the curb and watched him with a strange face.

"Sai, I didn't know..." he started, but Sai ignored him.

"Danzo found me one day. He asked if I were hungry and brought me along in his car." Sai frowned in thought. "It was, blue, I think. Dark blue or dark marine; toned windows." Satisfied, he nodded. "I had been in cars before, but never in the kind of place he brought me to." In front of him Sai could see the skyscraper, reaching like the tower of Babylon to the heavens and its steel and glass catching the sun and turning the building into a beacon of light and warmth. "He said I would be taken care of, so I stayed. I didn't think of Iva." He shook his head. "I met other children like me. We got food and our own beds – no one threatened to beat or take advantage of us – so we were grateful. Danzo came every day and talked to us; at first he played with us, but eventually no one wanted to play anymore and – when we were told that people were giving Danzo trouble we all were ready to kill for him, or die trying. It seemed so natural.

"In reality there was a sedative in our food, and when we passed out they hooked us up to PASIV's and went under; redecorated our minds." Sai puffed softly and smiled emptily. Naruto wasn't fiddling with the radio anymore and through the static Sai heard some boy band he didn't recognise sing about their baby. Sai rocked his head to the beat and slipped deeper into the seat, looking back at the blonde.

He seemed concerned and troubled, trying to process Sai's words while forming a plan for their mission that just seemed to get harder. Sai liked Naruto liked that, silent and thoughtful. If Sakura was around she would always start an embarrassing story about their childhood, when Naruto had been loud, obnoxious and orange and how rare it was to see Calm Naruto, as she called him.

"They started on our training, special agents taught us where to shoot, stab or press – or how to go under, extract information vital to the State." said Sai and gently started picking at a thread from his teammates pants. Naruto let him and drummed his fingers against the wheel along with the rain that started to fall. "I had killed fifty men before I turned eleven." Naruto snapped his head to him. "No one suspects children." answered Sai with a shrug.

"But they missed something with the mass-production of assassins," Sai said and got the thread loose. He rubbed it against his index finger and thumb.

"What?" asked Naruto with furrowed eyebrows. Sai smiled brightly.

"Inefficient background data."

"The idea clashed?" Sai nodded.

"In one." he agreed. "All of us were taken from the street, but not everyone was orphans. There was a boy, he was called Shin; he had been taken from his parents when he was seven. Trafficking and slavery is quite common, it happens every day to thousands of people." Sai looked out. "We don't know what's going on behind every curtain, so we pretend that everything is well in the world and shut out the fear so we don't have to take any kind of responsibility for how rotten mankind have become.

"Shin knew his parents were looking for him. He knew he was... _loved_. He had so much faith in them. Always talked about when they would find him and take him back home. It sounded nice." Sai fell silent for a while.

"And?"

"The Foundation wasn't his life." Sai shrugged. "There were people who cared for him out there, so he didn't believe that Roots were the only ones willing to look after him. He played along and when we were old enough he tried to escape. We weren't even teenagers."He shook his head, thoughtful. "I killed him."

"What?!" exclaimed Naruto with a stare.

"Danzo demanded it." said Sai silently. "And when he died, he looked at me and called me brother." He bit his lip unconsciously. "He was my best friend. I didn't know it, but we were brothers."

"How did you –" Naruto started hesitantly.

"It took such a long time... but I realised the Foundation didn't care for me. My brother had cared for me." Sai looked back with a straight face. "I had to find his parents, tell them that they saved him. It was my only mission. Danzo never noticed I was pretending just like Shin, and he sent me to put out a law enforcer working on Extraction-crimes. Instead, I told him everything I knew; where headquarters was, every name I had heard, every person I knew they had killed, what they did to us and how they'd train us.

"He took me to a safe place, promised he'd take care of everything and shut it down; even promised to track down Shin's parents. The Foundation had captain Yamato killed the next day."

"And you ran?" Sai nodded.

"I know how they operate, so I know how to avoid them." Naruto twisted completely to see him, watching him seriously. Sai tilted his head, wondering if the blonde was angry now.

"Is everything true Sai? I need to know if you're just yanking my chain here." Sai gave him a pointed look and crossed his arms.

"I have no reason to lie."

"That has never stopped you before," Naruto butted in, but resolved. "It just sounds like a Bond movie or something!"

"Then why were there so many _ugly_ women?" Sai said seriously, but Naruto ignored him and dragged a hand through his mop of golden hair.

"Timothy Dalton, step aside." He mumbled, strongly believing Dalton to be the best Bond-actor in the world. "Do you think we should do this? Honestly." Sai watched him with the same gravity.

"It's too late to pull out." Naruto made an annoyed sound in the back of his throat and shook his head.

"_Can_ we do it?"

"We can do it," Sai answered after a moment. "The sissies won't know what happened."

Naruto and he made it back to Head Quarters quickly after that. True to his word Naruto had forced Sai to carry all the bags and only gracefully held the doors open for him to pass. Naruto closed the door silently behind them and shouted merrily towards Sakura.

"Honey, we're home!" Sakura peeked up from her desk and grinned. Her laptop was up and running now and it cast a blue glow against her face.

"Good," she said and leaned back, her fingers ceasing their tap dance over the board. "I think I have reached a breakthrough."

"Sakura-chan, coming to the rescue." Naruto sang his praise and flopped down in his chair, spinning a circle before coming to a halt. Sai dropped the bags of steaming food on his desk, his mood damp.

"We got you your muffin." he informed and cast an evil glare towards the blond. "But Naruto ate it."

"Naruto!" Sakura screeched. "You said you don't even like them!"

"What can I say – I was starving." Naruto gave his winner smile, but still managed to look a little bashful. "I'm a growing man, I need sustenance."

"The only way you will grow is sideways." Sai shot back and unpacked the boxes. Sakura glanced between them.

"Did you two have a fight?" she asked attentively.

"No." snorted Sai as he tossed Naruto's ramen towards him.

Naruto caught it like an expert and broke loose his chopsticks. "No." he agreed. Before he had the time to say anything else Sai released a huge sigh and straightened up.

"Naruto finds it completely _impossible _to keep a low profile. He's going to alert everyone within a ten kilometre's radar to our presence."

"I just said hello to her!" Naruto defended and raised his hands.

"I can't for the life of me understand why he's so _compelled _to flirt with just about everything he sees," Sai continued like he hadn't been interrupted, focusing entirely on Sakura. "Especially when he possesses such a small penis," he ended with a snap and tossed a glare at the blond again. Naruto met his gaze silently for a moment, but they broke apart and the blond turned to Sakura.

"Sakura-chan, I'm sorry I ate your muffin." he offered sincerely. Sai didn't see properly but he thought he saw Sakura give him a pointed glare in his direction. "As for anything else," he continued and Sai tensed up, listening. "I have already said everything I can say."

Sai thought back to the car-ride back from the diner, but he could still think of a whole lot more to say on the matter. "Now," Naruto asked seriously. "Can we return to work and act like professionals?" After a thick silence Sakura spoke up.

"Sometimes it's hard to work with family," she said and Sai felt like it was directed directly at him. "But there are no other guys I would rather have watch my back than you two." Sai glanced up from his fruit-salad and gave her a small smile in response to her own. He even glanced to Naruto and saw a similar smile.

"Likewise, Sakura-chan." Naruto agreed and their eyes met for a second. His smile changed faintly, but it didn't disappear and his blue eyes were soft. "That applies to everyone in the room." Sai nodded faintly and went back to picking out apples from his box. "Now, what was the breakthrough?"

Sakura worked with her screen again and walked over to their projector. With nimble fingers she hooked it up and her desktop lit up in a monstrous scale on the white wall in front of them. Sai turned his attention to it.

"Well, like we knew, Matsumoto Gen is competing against Sharingan Productions and they're both largely funded by the military, but there is still a private sector in both companies.

"As it is now, Itachi-san owns twenty-eight percent of the company and that is the majority." Sakura brought up a sheet with seven staples, each one going higher than the next. "I've checked and it is an insanely popular company to own stocks in. For years another large portion has been owned by something that is called ShiIah inc. but two years ago the CEO went missing. The local police have declared him presumably dead and they had to go into bankruptcy.

"Nothing really looks suspicious, a lot of different people bought up the stocks that became loose, but if you dig a little deeper you'll realise that all of these names, people – they're aliases and shell-companies, all which leads to one source."

"Let me guess," Naruto interrupted with a drawl. "Matsumoto Gen."

"Ding, ding, ding!" Sakura brought up another chart – this one as a circle. "When all of these stocks are combined, Matsumoto Gen owns twenty five percent of Sharingan Prod. That's almost as much as Itachi-san."

"Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't this a very bizarre business-plan?" Sai asked and pointed with his sticks. "Orochimaru would be raising the value of his enemy-company by buying stocks, and lowering his own."

"You're absolutely right Sai. So here's where it gets even more twisted." A picture came up. This was of a man in a stuffed, dark Armani suit and slicked back, dark hair. He was talking on his mobile and his eyes were almost straight into the camera. "This is Uchiha Obito. He's Itachi-san's uncle and Sharingan Prod accountant. According to his forecast of the coming year, if Itachi-san dies and Sasuke-san takes over as CEO, Sharingan Prod stock will fall in value.

"It appears like the faith is in the current CEO and not actually in what they produce." Sakura pursed her lips and watched the wall. "I think Matsumoto Gen will be able to buy up to 59 percent of Sharingan Prod, to a very cheap price. I don't think he's after Itachi-sans revolutionary idea of unlimited power, he just wants the youngest brother to seize control so he can buy them up.

"He just needs 51 percent to be able to lock out the committee – that means that Orochimaru would gain full control over the company – Sasuke-san would just have to sit back or sell."

"And together with Matsumoto Gen that he already owns, Orochimaru would suddenly have monopoly of the field. He'd own everything." Sai said and frowned.

"Exactly." Sakura unplugged the computer from the projector. "I'm starting to think this is very deep waters."

"They're funded by the military," Naruto spoke up suddenly. "Let's face it, _they_ are the ones with monopoly."

"Even more reason to worry," Sakura offered. "If we fail, there would be bigger fish after us than just Orochimaru."

"Let's worry about that later." decided Sai. His teammates could focus on the most useless things sometimes. "Eat up, we have to get to the manor, or we'll be late.

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><p><strong>If you enjoyed chapter two, please review.<br>**

**If you're looking for more Sai-related stories, feel free to visit my story, I still remain, within the Sound of Silence at s/5421940/1/I-still-remain-within-the-sound-of-silence although you should beware that it is darker and have a higher rating than this tale. **

**Yours truly, Qayin.**


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